Burn Us Down
by starlight.moon.princess
Summary: The war leaves scars that cannot be seen, and Harry cannot recoginse Draco / HarryDraco, and escaping the mental scars left by the shadows of the war


**For Camp Potter (Campfire Songs - write a piece based on the lyric _"You say, 'Too late to start with your heart in a headlock. You know you're better than this.'" - Headlock, Imogen Heap_); Last Ship Standing (_emotion: hatred; quote: "Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something else is more important that fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all." - Ambrose Redmoon_ and _word: nostalgia_); the If You Dare Challenge (467. Bomb); the OTP Bootcamp (15. Indifference); the HP Potions Competition (Forgetfulness Potion); the Fantastic Beasts Challenge (Augrey) and the Popular Song Competition (Hall of Fame)**

**This turned out a bit freeverse-ish, but I hope you guys like it anyways :)**

* * *

His mind was scarred.

Living on the run did that to a person, grabbed him and broke him down into the fundamental aspects of his being, and then reshaped him into something completely new and unrecognizable, and that was what had happened to Harry Potter.

He hid it well, but by the time he reached the Room of Requirement, wands blazing and ready for a duel to the death with **VoldemortTomRiddleDarkLord**, his mind had shattered. It was only capable of truly recognising Ron and Hermione. Every other person was like a half remembered dream with familiar names and faces, but no information to go with them, no recollection as to why they were friend or foe.

And then came the battle before the battle.

The only thing he could see was shots of **deathgreen** light and Hermione's cry of shock and horror, not the blond haired boy trying to stop the madness that had descended over his friends.

And then suddenly his world wasn't **deathgreen** lights but **orangeyellow** flames and **snappinggrowling** creatures, and the only thing that entered his mind was **getoutgetoutgetout**.

Ron and Hermione were behind him, and it was all okay, they were going to get out too. There was nothing left for him in that room.

And he was **flyingflyingflying** when he heard the sound.

It was a cry, a plea, a desperate call for help, and that was what changed everything.

Suddenly, everything came **rushinggushingflowing** back to him. The blond haired boy he had followed for the good part of a year, and everything that he had seen in him. The tears and sobs and **completeuttertotal** desperation for an escape from hell.

And he remembered – the gorgeous **oceangrey beautifulshining** eyes that just seemed to sear right through his skin and see into the hidden parts of his soul, the slight curves of his lips when he **laughedgiggled** at things he didn't want others to know about.

More than anything else, he remembered the **dreamsfantasieshopes** he thought of in secret, of green eyes looking into grey and lips meeting soft lips.

The act of turning back **horrifiedterrifiedfrightened** him. His mind shied away from the act – it was scarred, but it wasn't scarred enough not to **hatedespise** the thought of dying.

But fear was nothing in the face of love, and the last thing Harry Potter was about to allow himself to do was to watch another person he loved die when could do something to save him.

He didn't need more scars on his mind.

So he turned back, ignoring Ron and Hermione's cries of **shocksurprisebewilderment**. He had his prize in his sight, and he wasn't going to let Draco Malfoy slip from his arms into the arms of Death if he had any say in the matter.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was **lostconfusedgone**.

The year he had led had been hell on both his body and mind, and the only thing he could think of (and he could already imagine his so called friends' cries of **bloodtraitorbetrayerturncoat**) was the **deathdownfallannihilation** of the Dark Lord.

He needed freedom from horror.

Because when even the memory of the **burningnervestorturedcries** that _Crucio_ causes made a person nostalgic for better days, it was obvious that the Dark Lord was utterly insane and definitely not the best thing for the magical world.

And then Harry Potter returned to Hogwarts, and even though he knew he should have been thinking of the freedom that awaited him at the Saviour's hands, the only thing that went through his mind was **nonotyoupleasedontdie**.

Somewhere along the way, the hatred and burning anger had become replaced by **shyglances** and **flutteringheartbeats**. He didn't want to see the person who had given him a reason to think of future for himself, not just his parents or the few friends he could trust, die.

But then Crabbe and Goyle forced him to lead them to Harry, intent on **destroyingdemolishingobliterating** him.

And though he **triedtriedtried** his best to stop them, he had somehow lost his hold over the boys who used to do everything he told them to. So he turned his attention to Harry, and saw something that **stoppedhaltedscareed** his heart.

Harry's eyes were blank, dead, _**gone**_.

It was not his Harry in there anymore – the war and the last year had done things to him too, but they had been much worse than anything that ever happened to Draco.

Because the fact that the boy who has sparred with him for the last six years did not seem to recognise him proved that.

And then suddenly there were **flamingsnappingnipping** giants of fire all around him, and the only thing he could do was scramble to find higher ground, somewhere where he could protect himself.

Harry's eyes were dead, and he knew that the person who had taken the place of his Harry wasn't the type to even think to rescue someone he didn't recognise.

But even the highest peak he could find wasn't safe anymore, and as sparks fell on him and Goyle and he watched Crabbe burn to death in front of him, he could not stop the instinctive cry that slips out of his mouth.

(The only thing that comforted him was the fact that **attheveryleast** he had seen Harry one last time before he died.)

And then suddenly a **surprisingcoolrefreshing** blast of air blew towards him, and he couldn't stop himself from looking up in hope.

Harry was racing towards him, a **determinedterrifiedworried** look on his face, and he couldn't help but smile.

His Harry was back, and he just _**knew**_ that **hetheythetwoofthem** were going to _live_.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked it! As always, don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)**


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